Friday, March 26, 2010

Hopey Change in the Senate

This is why we worked so hard to elect a Democratic majority. Now, we just need to elect more Senators like this:

Faced with what they're calling a "broken" system, a band of Senate Democratic newcomers is vowing to change the way the world's greatest deliberative body does business. These "young turks" -- young being a relative term in a body where 60 is considered middle-aged -- are pushing to revamp the decades-old rules that govern the Senate. Their targets include long-held senatorial courtesies such as the "hold" and the seniority system that awards chairmen's gavels solely on tenure. Ultimately, some want to modify or eliminate the most potent of all senatorial weapons: the filibuster.

"The more the American people understand the system's broken, the more the people are going to support rules reform," said Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), a relative whippersnapper by Senate standards at 51, who was elected in 2008. "The real issue is, let's get the Senate to do what the American people said it should do in the last election."

Amen. Make it happen. Needless to say the old guy Dems and the Republicans aren't impressed. Which is why we need to dump the incumbents and get some fresh faces on Capitol Hill.